A late Max Wolltman goal ensured Liverpool earned a 1-1 draw with 10-man Everton in the Under-21s' mini Merseyside derby on Sunday.
Stanley Mills gave Everton the lead early on before the hosts were reduced to 10 after left-back Ishe Samuels-Smith left Ben Doak in a heap with a poor challenge.
Woltman struck late on to give Barry Lewtas's side a point in Premier League 2 and the ECHO was at Southport's Haig Avenue stadium to analyse the game.
Doak just missing final pass
One of the most consistent aspects of Liverpool's Under-21 fixtures this term has been the standout displays of Ben Doak.
The Scottish teenager has quickly risen to the fringes of the first team thanks to his rapid progress since moving from Celtic last year and he has been a constant source of creativity on the right flank for Lewtas throughout.
Having been raised in Glasgow's Old Firm cauldron, Doak knows a thing or two about local rivalry and he even made a first-team appearance against Rangers for Celtic prior to his move down south.
So it was no surprise to see the right-sided attacker fired up for the game against the Blues, even if it was not a performance that will be placed alongside some of his more eye-catching this term.
Doak, as ever, was menacing on the right side as the visitors tried to get the ball to him as often as possible against Ishe Samuels-Smith, who was eventually sent off for a poor tackle on Liverpool's No.7.
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As Liverpool toiled for an equaliser, however, the frustration of the afternoon began to show at times for the youngster, who was booked for a wild swipe on Isaac Price in the second half, which came after he had earlier loudly bemoaned the lack of protection from referee Aaron Jackson after a challenge from Jenson Metcalfe.
Doak was not at his sparkling best here but to his credit, he refused to hide, constantly offering himself up for a pass from team-mates. He got in behind the Everton defence a handful of times but was just lacking with the final pass, which was something his manager pointed out after the game.
"I think sometimes when you reflect on it, you can see he beat his full-back enough times and it was just maybe the end ball wasn't there," Lewtas told the ECHO. "I think their left-back is a good player and Ben ended up getting him sent off.
"I think when you look at Ben's game today, he beat his man a few times in the first half, a few in the second, got to the byline and maybe it was just the final ball [that was lacking]. But it's an interesting one for us because I think we are a team where the front players aren't often starved of moments.
"We get our No.9s in between the posts and they score goals, the front players get plenty of the ball and our full-backs do the same, but today was a tough game. So maybe it didn't look like it does at times but that is football."
Subdued Clark will enjoy better days
It was a much quieter afternoon for another player with previous first-team experience this season as Bobby Clark struggled to impose his considerable talent on the game.
The son of former Newcastle midfielder Lee was given his Premier League debut back in August in the 9-0 shelling of Bournemouth and Clark certainly has his admirers within the senior staff.
This, though, was a subdued afternoon for the No.10 who was guilty, at times, of some loose touches in the centre of the park. One threaded pass inside found its mark for the on-rushing Ben Doak but Clark was not able to display his full range of passing qualities as Liverpool laboured following Stanley Mills's opening goal.
One poor piece of control from Doak's pass inside saw a promising move break down before he was eventually taken off for goalscorer Max Woltman.
Clark will enjoy better days and he can likely consider himself as one of the front runners to go with the first team on their pre-season tour later this summer having been taken as part of the club's contingent that flew to Dubai in December. That will be a hugely beneficial period for the midfielder.
There's a big future awaiting Clark but days like Sunday are evidence that there are still things to work on, which goes for all the fledglings hoping to make the grade in the Kirkby Academy.
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